Dili, March 13, 2025 (Média Democracia) – Deputy Minister for ASEAN Affairs, Milena Rangel said, Timor-Leste is ready to become a member of ASEAN, because the seven criteria given by ASEAN to Timor-Leste have all been implemented, she said at the Timor Hotel Conference Room, Tuesday.
In an interview with the Deputy Minister for ASEAN Affairs, Milena Rangel said that seeing Timor-Leste’s accession as a permanent member of ASEAN has been prepared for a long time so it cannot be said that it is not ready, but what can be said is that this year Timor-Leste is ready to join as a member of ASEAN.
“Timor-Leste’s accession into ASEAN as a member is because so far we have held the roadmap that we received from ASEAN and are implementing it, and let’s just say we have to be ready now to become a member of ASEAN, if we are not ready to become a member of ASEAN, when will we be ready, when can we find the perfect situation, when can we get an opportunity like this again, if we have become a new member we can improve more of the less good situations,” She said.
She continued, challenges are always there but it does not mean there is no loss, because the government and the country have a foreign policy so that Timor-Leste can enter this regional organization, because it has conducted in-depth studies and knows the many benefits for society and the country in all sectors, and also for the development of human resources, including civil society will gain many benefits if this regional integration occurs.
“To become a member of this regional organization there are always challenges, because this is an organization that has long been advanced in all fields, therefore it requires hard work from all of us, but we must not be late again with the developments in our own country, but geographically we have participated in ASEAN, there is nothing confusing, we must be proud because of the seven criteria given by ASEAN to Timor-Leste, we are trying hard to be able to achieve some and experience high progress.” Said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
She added that the truth is that there is no longer any confusion and Timor-Leste is ready to become a member of ASEAN because it has always been conveyed by the President through the Ministry of Foreign Business and Cooperation regarding Timor-Leste’s accession into ASEAN this year, because ASEAN itself has conveyed that Timor-Leste has experienced very rapid progress.
President of the Republic José Ramos Horta added that within ASEAN, most of the defense forces are very professional, but there are still one or two that are lacking or not good, when compared to Timor-Leste, it is already very good, therefore it can be said that Timor-Leste is ready to become a member of ASEAN.
“I just want to convey that when we became a member of ASEAN, many countries helped our country such as Indonesia, Australia, Portugal, these three countries always strongly supported Timor-Leste to be able to join ASEAN.” Said the President
The President continued, the most important thing to look at in the future is how the government will build infrastructure, especially towards the borders, so that it can show a good image when becoming a member of ASEAN, therefore border policies must have quality, good maturity, quality initiatives, such as housing, mobility and others.
Reported by : Domingas
Picture by : Domingas